Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman comes to town Saturday Oct. 11 to present the ground breaking “Symphonic Blues Experience,” an immersive live concert that blends the soulful sounds of Mississippi Delta Blues with the grandeur of the Louisville Orchestra.
“I’m looking forward to being in Louisville again,” Freeman told the Courier Journal. “I have very good luck in Louisville. I won the Trifecta at the 1991 Kentucky Derby when Strike the Gold won the race.”
Freeman and producer Eric Meirer have struck their own musical gold with the “Symphonic Blues Experience,” which will include the Academy Award winning actor presenting a live introduction to the performance at the Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main St.
Oscar award winner Morgan Freeman at his Ground Zero Blues Club in Mississippi
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Meirer, who is co-creator and co-owner with Freeman of the Ground Zero Blues Club, a live music venue in Freeman’s hometown in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and the Symphonic Blues Experience, told the Courier Journal he came up with the idea for powerful cinematic storytelling combined with live blues and an orchestral performance after attending a concert which combined an Australian hip-hop group and a symphony.
“It was so powerful and the audience’s reaction was so overwhelmingly positive that I thought ‘why can’t we do something similar with the blues?'” Meirer said.
After presenting “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” in Dublin, Ireland and Salzburg, Austria, Freeman and Meirer’s moving tribute to America’s musical heritage is now crisscrossing the United States.
In Louisville, the audience will be treated to a live introduction on stage from the 88-year-old actor followed by a concert combining the powerful music of the Louisville Orchestra backing a group of legendary blues musicians and a visual component narrated by Freeman, which he recorded at his Ground Zero Blues Club in Mississippi.
The Symphonic Blues Experience traces the unique path of the music genre as it moves north out of the Mississippi Delta through places like Memphis and into Chicago, where it was first electrified, which an emphasis on its impact on rock ‘n’ roll and artists like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
Actor and producer Morgan Freeman
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“It’s truly an immersive and one-of-a-kind experience,” Freeman said. “And there is an additional upside to this collaboration. We are reintroducing audiences to the orchestra or symphony in their hometown.”
With a career spanning six decades, Freeman has won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) and received four additional Oscar nominations for his performances in “Street Smart” (1987), “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994), and “Invictus” (2009).
When he’s not touring with the Symphonic Blues Experience, Freeman, 88, continues to work as actor, narrator and producer. He lives on his ranch near Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he also runs his blues club and has a private pilot license for quick trips around the country.
“It’s all about staying active,” he said. “Once you start sitting around, you’re done. Just keep moving,” the actor said. “I’d say that’s the secret to longevity.”
Reach lifestyle and entertainment reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].
WHAT: A concert hosted by actor Morgan Freeman that bridges the soul-stirring roots of the Mississippi Delta Blues with the richness of the Louisville Orchestra. Freeman introduces the performance, which also includes a pre-recorded narrated visual component.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: The Kentucky Center, 501 W. Main St., Louisville
TICKETS: $62, $103, and $141
A premium package, which includes a Saturday concert ticket and “An Evening with Morgan Freeman at Ashbourne Farms,” on Friday, Oct. 10 is $500. The Friday cocktail event includes a Q&A session with the actor and Teddy Abrams, music director of the Louisville Orchestra.
MORE INFORMATION: louisvilleorchestra.org
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: ‘Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience’ in Louisville: tickets
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